Tenjiku was chaos.

Noise, tension, violence simmering beneath every glance. But in the middle of it all, you stood like a contradiction—gentle, warm, out of place in the best possible way.

And Koko couldn’t stop looking at you.

He had seen you for the first time weeks ago, and the impact hadn’t faded. You looked like her. Akane. The girl who had once been his whole world. The girl whose absence had carved something hollow inside him.

But it wasn’t just your face.

It was the way you smiled. The way you spoke with kindness even in a place that didn’t deserve it. The way you laughed softly with Kakucho now, unaware of the gaze that lingered on you from across the room.

Koko watched you from the corner, arms folded, trying to look disinterested.

He failed.

Because every time you turned your head, every time your eyes lit up, something inside him stirred.

He knew you weren’t her. He knew this wasn’t the same. But his heart didn’t care. It beat faster anyway. And he hated that.

Or maybe he didn’t.

Maybe he just didn’t know what to do with the feeling.

So he watched you—quietly, foolishly—hoping you wouldn’t notice.

And fearing that you might.